


Turning the Pages

by Sweety_Bird



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman (Movies 1989-1997)
Genre: Action, Drama, Gen, Horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-02
Updated: 2013-02-02
Packaged: 2017-11-27 20:41:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/666285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sweety_Bird/pseuds/Sweety_Bird





	Turning the Pages

"You shouldn't have come alone, little Robin," a voice cooed from somewhere within the depths. The sidekick's grip tightened on his bo staff, his masked eyes narrowing as he scanned the building. The whole place had been overrun with plants; typical. Poison Ivy was always big on redecoration. 

Refusing to become distracted by thinking about her, Robin advanced, all the while keeping an eye out for the green-skinned woman. No doubt she was waiting somewhere to greet him with a puff of pink dust in his face. He only managed a few steps forward before a vine he should've noticed wrapped around his ankle and yanked, knocking him off balance before hoisting him into the air. 

Dangling by his ankle, Robin was forced to watch upside down as a familiar green figure swayed towards him, having to strain his eyes to see as her face came into view. He instinctively flinched away as she traced a finger down his stomach and towards his chest, then swung slightly as the vine rose to bring them to eye level. 

"Hello dear," Ivy purred, placing a hand on the side of his face. For a moment he was struck dumb by her beauty, then forced himself out of it and quickly whirled his staff around, severing the vine that held him up. He'd grown more resistant to her advances, but sometimes.. well, he was still a little head over heels. 

Ivy had quickly moved out of the way as he cut himself free, only having time for a startled yelp as he lunged towards her. In a matter of seconds he was straddling her, keeping her arms pinned at her sides lest she fight back. She wouldn't of course, but still. "My my, where are your manners?" She taunted, noting with a hint of satisfaction that his face had turned a slight shade of pink. "Don't you know you're supposed to treat a lady to dinner first?" She continued, causing a muscle in his jaw to begin working as he fought to contain his anger.

"Why'd you kill that businessman?" Robin snapped, earning himself a raised eyebrow. "Whatever do you-"

"I mean it," he cut her off, narrowing his eyes. "Why did you kill Brandt?" 

Ivy was thoughtful for a moment, then shrugged. "That new factory he was planning to build would have destroyed a field of wildflowers," she said innocently. Robin groaned and leaned back slightly, looking like he wanted the pinch the bridge of his nose but couldn't because he was holding her down. "You killed him over a bunch of untamed flowers?" He asked, to which her expression darkened. "I warned him," she growled, narrowing her eyes. "I told him to go build it somewhere else, and he wouldn't listen to me. So I saved my children's' lives."

Sighing, Robin moved one hand to reach for a pair of handcuffs. "Hope it was worth Arkham," he muttered, still wondering how someone got crazy like that. He was mildly surprised when her free hand shot out to grip his wrist. "Robin, wait," she whispered, not looking at him. "Ivy, I don't-" She shushed him, shooting the boy wonder a glare before returning her attention to their surroundings. "This isn't my garden," she murmured aloud, her eyes roving the area. When Robin chanced a look, he saw that she was right. The colorful and exotic flora had been replaced with gnarled trees and darkness; they weren't even in a building anymore. 

"Where are we?" He breathed, glancing back down at her suspiciously. Catching his look, she held her hand up defensively. "I had nothing to do with this. Ugh, those trees are so.. unhealthy. And dead," she said, eyeing them with a pained expression. Well, either her acting had improved, or she had nothing to do with this. Robin climbed slowly off, suppressing an eye roll as she made a big show of dusting herself off. Drama queen. 

Robin still held his staff in one hand as he took in their gloomy surroundings. He'd never seen any place like this in Gotham. "You're sure you have nothing to do with this?" He demanded, his suspicion aroused. At this Poison Ivy actually looked angry; her hands were on her hips as she glared at him. "Robin. Make like my dear friend Mr. Freeze, and _chill_. I would never let any wildlife get in this condition, and even if I did, how could I have possibly moved us from inside to outside when you were on top of me?" She ground out, turning away to examine one of the trees. That effectively shut Robin up. Make like Mr. Freeze and chill? She'd reached an all time low on puns, and yet he felt the need to write that one down. 

"What's this?" He turned as she spoke again, walking up beside her and eyeing her warily. The cause of this or not, he still did not trust her in the slightest. Following Ivy's gaze, he noticed the piece of paper on the tree and frowned slightly. The word _RUN_  
was hastily scrawled on it, causing the boy to pale slightly. He reached up and took it, frowning before scanning the area. There was nothing save for trees. "What do you suppose this means?" Ivy asked, glancing down at him. It seemed they were stuck in whatever sort of nightmare this was, and she wasn't opposed to an alliance that would keep her alive. 

"I think.." Robin said slowly, blanching slightly as a white static filled the air, "I think I know where we are." The green woman just stared at him, raising an eyebrow expectantly. "Well? Spit it out," she prompted, looking around for the source of the noise that was slowly getting louder. Robin actually looked worried, she noticed, and that sort of freaked her out. "Basically there's this game- its an internet game, and your goal is to collect all 8 pages-" he waved the paper "-before _he_ finds you." 

Self-consciously Poison Ivy looked around again, finding nothing that wasn't there before. The only difference was the static noise in a wild crescendo, which was really starting to scare her though she attempted to hide it. "And.. who is he?" She asked warily, looking down at the boy. She would be reliant on him then, she realized irritatedly. Robin's gaze darted back and forth, then he leaned in and whispered, "Slenderman." 

As though he had been summoned, a tall figure in a suit appeared in the distance, unmoving as he(it? Ivy wasn't sure) stared at them. He didn't have a face from what she could tell, it just looked like a white oval. "Run!" Robin exclaimed, grabbing her arm and dragging her after him as he tore off through the trees. Ivy was only too happy to oblige, fear in her green eyes. It made him a little mad for some reason, to see her afraid, but he had bigger issues. Eventually the static died down, and they finally stopped running for a moment to catch their breaths. 

"So.. he's trying.. to kill us?" She gasped, wheezing slightly. Beauty, not brawn. She wasn't a runner. Robin only nodded, trying to save his energy while he regained stamina. "We have to find all the pages," he said when he finally caught his breath, straightening up. "For the time being, truce, alright?" He asked, looking over at her. She only hesitated for a moment before nodding, figuring it was that or die on her own. Robin seemed to know about this game or whatever it was, and she had a distinct feeling that her powers of seduction wouldn't work on the thing chasing them. 

They began walking in what seemed like a random direction to the self-proclaimed Mother Nature, though Robin apparently knew what he was doing. "I take it this game is supposed to be creepy," she said, uncomfortable with the silence. Her companion merely nodded, a flashlight in hand to scan the darkness for pages. As he roved it over a pile of boulders, a flash of white caught her eye, and she automatically grabbed his arm. "Wait- go back," she whispered, the page coming into view as he complied and moved the beam back. Hurrying forward, he retrieved the paper and stashed it away, nodding to her. "Good eye. Come on, we can't stay in one place long," he instructed, turning to continue on their way.

The figure reappeared not too far away directly in their path; Ivy barely bit back a scream. He didn't have to tell her this time, she was running in the opposite direction. The static was nearly deafening, and there was a high pitched beeping noise along with it that only made her pour on the speed. They didn't stop running until they had reached a small building, into which Ivy ran in and Robin was forced to follow. They needed to stick together, after all. "We aren't safe in here," he informed her, gripping his staff so tight that his knuckles were white under his gloves. He knew that if that thing caught them, there would be no fighting. He suspected even Batman wouldn't be able to face the Slenderman. 

"Robin," came Poison Ivy's voice from down the hall, making him turn. She was no longer standing beside him. Swearing under his breath, he crept further inside in search of her. "I found another page," she called, guiding him towards her location. She was standing next to a chair, holding out another piece of paper to him, which he promptly took. "That's three. Come on, five more," Robin said with a nod, walking past her to examine the rest of the small building. There were no more pages inside, and much to their relief the figure did not appear this time. It still had them on edge however, his uncanny ability to materialize out of thin air and scare them out of their wits. 

They exited on the opposite side of the small building and were greeted immediately by a truck. "Hey- maybe we can just drive away from here," Ivy said hopefully, looking slightly crestfallen as the sidekick shook his head. "We would get turned around. The game is made to keep you walking in circles," he sighed, walking around the side of it and retrieving the page he'd known would be there. That was four. "We're halfway there," he assured her, feeling the need to comfort her whatever reason. Probably her seductive appearance again. She merely nodded in reply, flinching as the white static started up again. It was slow this time and distant, but it could be heard growing closer. As she looked over her shoulder, she glimpsed the figure before it apparently teleported closer, the eerie noises becoming louder and louder as the thing came closer. 

Robin had noticed it as well, but as he made as if to run, he noticed that Ivy seemed frozen. In shock. "Ivy, come on!" He exclaimed, grabbing her arm and pulling. This was a terrible time for her to be glued to the spot in fear. A small sound escaped her, something that sounded like a whimper, before instinct kicked in and she began to run with him. He kept a firm grip on her arm anyway, just in case, and mostly to reassure her that he wouldn't be abandoning her any time soon. Once more they were forced to jog until the sound died away, though this time it took longer as the thing actually followed them for a while. It was extremely unnerving. 

Wheezing, Ivy rubbed her arm as Robin let go and braced herself with her hands on her knees. They were going to die here. They were actually going to die here, and it had nothing to do with her. Seeing the look on her face, Robin frowned and put a hand on her shoulder. "Look.. I know we're supposed to be enemies, but just trust me on this. We'll make it out of here alive, alright?" He said, watching as she lifted her gaze towards him. For a moment nothing happened, then she simply nodded and stood up straight again. "The next page is close by. Just stay close to me," he said, inclining his head before he began walking through the trees again.

Robin was right- it was nearby. It looked to be like a sewer or drain pipe of some kind. Cautiously they made their way down into the shallow dip of land that the pipe rested in, though Ivy stood outside and watched as he walked inside. As he had expected, one of the pages was on the wall of the pipe. Not wishing to be caught in the dead end, he quickly retreated out of it and joined her in the climb up out of the ditch again. 

The appearance of Slenderman never came; both of them were thinking silent prayers as they continued on their way. Just a few more. Just a few more, and they would be out of this place. 

This time it was a longer walk, and the silence had both of them peering over their shoulders frequently. Ivy was starting to feel weary, but didn't dare stop for fear of being left behind and or killed. Robin could tell she was tired, but didn't slow their pace. It could be their downfall. Eventually they came upon a red mound of some sort of dirt like substance, a wrinkled white page on top. As Robin took it, Ivy made out the word _Follows_ slanted across it. Automatically she turned around, and this time she did scream. The figure was directly behind them, the static noise and beeping piercing her ears all at once. She didn't even have time to think, she just ran. Pounding footsteps behind her solicited another scream from the terrified woman, who attempted to sprint faster. The footsteps got closer, got louder, and then suddenly overtook her. 

Robin shut his eyes as she slammed into him, taking the brunt of the hit as they both collapsed in a heap. "It's just me," he panted, worn out from chasing her. Slenderman hadn't caught either of them, and as soon as she had run Robin had given chase, only cutting Ivy off when he was sure the thing was no longer following. "I can't do this, Robin," she whispered, holding her head in her hands. She had climbed off of him, and now sat huddled next to him, her head bent. It sounded like she was close to tears. "I can't, I just.. I can't," she repeated, trembling slightly. Even she didn't want to die. Robin was startled to see a side of her that wasn't arrogant and seductive; surprised that she was scared and openly showing it. She had feelings, too. 

"We don't have a choice," he sighed, watching her lower her hands. She didn't look up from the ground, though. "We're so close, Ivy. Just two more pages, and we're home free. Come on, don't give up," he said softly, tilting his head to one side. The silence that followed made him worry, worry that she was ignoring him and was going to stay there until the thing got her. But at last she looked up, biting her lip slightly and nodding. They could at least try to get out alive. Getting up, Robin extended her hand and was relieved when she took it and allowed herself to be helped up. 

"I think the next page might be close by.. let's not waste any more time though," he said with a small frown, beckoning for her to follow as he continued down what looked like a well worn path. Everything appeared even more menacing before with the prospect of sudden death laid out before them. Their fear seemed to speed time up, and before long they were standing before a yellow wall that looked to be in the shape of a cross. Sure enough, the seventh page was on the other side. Robin snatched it quickly, automatically whirling around to face the figure in case it appeared. 

At first, nothing happened. Then the tell-tale sound of static filled the air, followed by a black suit in the distance that seemed to come closer when you weren't looking. "Come on," Robin breathed, leading a speechless Ivy away. To her horror, it continued to follow them and get closer as well. It didn't have any intention of leaving, apparently. This was it then. "Faster!" Robin cried as the static and beeping grew to a crescendo, chancing a peek over his shoulder and seeing the Slenderman not far behind them. The last page had to be close, it just had to be. They were both puffing considerably by the time they reached a set of yellow tanks in the distance. A slip of paper could just barely be made out- they were going to make it! Then suddenly a tree root caught Robin's foot and tripped him, sending the boy sprawling. Ivy paused for a split second, but the boy just yelled, "Get the page!" The figure was mere yards from him, and without a second thought to it, Poison Ivy sprinted for all she was worth and seized the page just as the figure was upon Robin. 

Everything around her twisted and distorted, and after a few moment she found herself laying on the ground. Soil, it was soil, she noticed, as she ran her fingers over it. And above her there was a roof, a roof covered in tropical vines and plants that she herself had put there. She'd made it. Turning her head, she felt an unusual relief wash over her as Robin came into view not too far away. He'd made it, too. Normally she would've laughed if he had died, but after that.. well, she wasn't sure. As if he sensed her thoughts about him, Robin rolled over and peered at her. "Are we alive?" He managed, glancing around. Ivy smiled faintly and nodded, the hammerings of her heart calming as she admitted it to both him and herself. They really were alive. 

Robin slowly sat up, peering at her for a moment with an unreadable expression. Then he stood, collapsing his bo staff until it was portable and slipping it away. "I'd say we've both had enough for one night, wouldn't you?" He asked, crossing his arms and staring down at her. Ivy had figured he was going to arrest her now, but didn't move from where she was sitting. Instead, and much to her surprise, he began to walk away towards the place he had entered from. "Let's just call this even and pick up where we left off next time. Minus the near-death experience," he called over his shoulder. Just like that, he was gone, leaving Poison Ivy in the dark and wondering what the hell had just happened.


End file.
